


Scéal na Cruinne agus an Uisce

by GreenGlitchBitch



Category: youtube - Fandom
Genre: Human Jack, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Siren Mark Fischbach
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-10-06 20:32:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17352125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenGlitchBitch/pseuds/GreenGlitchBitch
Summary: This is a tale few remember, but many have heard. It is a tale of Earth and Water.





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> New fic! The inspiration for this came from a discord chat I'm a part of. We all put in details of a Siren Mark human Jack AU, and I decided to write it. The title is Irish for The tale of Earth and Water. This is an intro chapter, just to give the reader knowledge of the AU. Hope you enjoy!

This is a tale few remember, but many have heard. It is a tale of Earth and Water. It is said that long ago, the Sirens and humans lived separated, one never knowing the other existed. The Sirens lived deep underwater, some taking the forms of humans with fish-like tails, some of sharks, and some even had tentacles, quite like an octopus. The Sirens were said to have the most beautiful and hypnotic voices. Tales tell of humans in ships being led to their rocky deaths by a Siren, though in truth, Sirens could not even control a humans actions.  


Sirens were known for not only their beautiful voices, but for their remarkable colors, ranging throughout all known colors of the world, any tint, any shade. Some Sirens could even glow in the night, usually their tails, any color, bright as day. There were some, though very few, that were known to change the glow between any manner of colors, both tail and hair.  


Sirens were not known to mingle with humans, they had often killed them under false pretense. Sirens could not leave water often, only being able to change their tails to legs, and gills to lungs for several hours every few days. Though, a Siren could choose to become human permanently, but the change was a painful one. As a punishment for leaving behind their life underwater, a Siren suffered a slow and painful death. Every step taken on their new legs, caused excruciating pain. Every breath taken in their newly formed permanent lungs, felt like inhaling a thousand razors. And when the Sirens time is up, they disappear into a sea of foam, gone forever.  


Almost no Siren subjected themselves to this fate, choosing a happy life underwater. If a Siren ever did choose this fate, it was for the love of human. Which was why it was so rare for a Siren to choose the life of a human over a life underwater. A Siren falling in love with a human was only known to happen every hundred years.  


Which leads to this tale. There are two true Sirens remaining, all others bred with other sea-folk. It has been a century since a Siren fell in love with a human. The tale begins with a male Siren, captured and left for dead on the side of a rock, on a hot day. He silently prays to the gods to save him from this torture, or to end him now, and spare him the slow death he is facing. Little does he know, his prayers will soon be answered.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a beautiful day in Los Angeles, though far too hot to stay indoors, especially when your air conditioning is broken, and the repairman is scheduled to fix it tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 1! I'm really enjoying this fic so far! I mean, I know it's only the first chapter, but I'm loving this fic! I'm excited to write more of it!

It was a beautiful day in Los Angeles, though far too hot to stay indoors, especially when your air conditioning is broken, and the repairman is scheduled to fix it tomorrow. The heat made it too uncomfortable to sit and play video games. The heat would cause the paints in the apartment to melt, if they were taken out of the refrigerator, where they currently resided. There was nothing to do indoors, leading the Irishman outside his apartment, swim trunks, shirt and flip flops on. He walked until he found himself at the beach, the sun hot on his back, the sand hit under his flip flops.  
He decided to walk down the beach, along the edge where water met earth, and swept the sand from its place on the shore and into the oceans great depths, to be lost for many years or few seconds. The water splashed upon the green haired man’s ankles, wetting his flip flops, but cooling his feet down. The calm, salty ocean breeze swept across his body, cooling him down further. The man continued walking on his own, passing families swimming in the water together, children making sand castles, couples sitting on blankets together under umbrellas, smiling to himself.  
He continued on, walking past everyone at the beach, lost in thoughts that he forgot quickly, mind not picking on a single thought, now walking where no one had traveled all day, judging by the lack of feet prints. His thoughts though, were interrupted when he caught sight of a man roped to the side of a rock in the water, his lower torso covered by the water, though the Irishman could see bright colors as the water splashed around him, most likely his swim trunks. The man wondered how he had gotten there, as there was no evidence of any person having gone this far. He decided to help the man, though, as he was tied to a rock in the sun, and did not appear to be breathing.  
He rushed into the water fast as he could, to free the man, possibly take him to the police if someone forced him into this situation. Little did he know, the man was indeed roped to the rock by force, but there was no way he could go to the police.

It had been a normal day under the ocean. The black haired Siren had left his home, in the hopes of finding fish or clams for a late lunch, early dinner. He had told his friends where he was going as he passed them, all wondering where he was heading. He’d managed to catch several fish, and a few clams, finding many interesting things underwater, an old bottle here, an interesting brown coin there, all interesting him.  
As he decided to head home, hair and tail glowing dimly in the partial dark of the ocean depths, he took a detour to see the humans on the beach nearby his home. He hid behind a rock, and looked for any humans on the beach. He stayed for several minutes, finding none. As he turned to leave, he felt a pair of strong hands grab his arm forcefully. Then another, and two more, all pushing him back against the rock he’d used as a hiding spot from any potential humans. Then his captures spoke.  
“We got one! We finally got one! The legends were true!” one said to the other, sounding excited. The hands pulled him around to the other side of the rock, and he could finally see his captors. They were both young, looking no older than 26, both males, looking very excited at what they had found. The Siren tried to get away, tugging his arms away as best he could, but the men’s combined strength was more than his.  
“Oh, we’re not letting you get away! We’ve heard stories of your kind, and we finally found one!” the other said, the Siren knowing, as the voices were different enough to tell. The first pulled out a rope from under the water, grabbing one end, and giving the other to the other man.  
“We heard that you are resilient against the sun, let’s see! If you’re still alive by tomorrow, we’ll bring by some stuff to find out more about how you work” the first man said, as both men worked together to tie the Siren to the rock, tying the rope tightly on the opposite side of the rock. They examined their work, before swimming back to the shore, and left, looking pleased at their work. The Siren struggled against the ropes, hoping they would give some, and he could escape, but no luck.  
_This is death for me. I’m to be left here all day, boiling in the sun above. Those humans don’t know a thing! This will surely kill me, and my friends will never know what became of me, unless one of them happens upon my corpse, still tied to this rock! _the Siren thought, knowing this was his end. As the time drew by, the Siren felt weaker and weaker by the minute. He felt he would soon pass out, he let out a silent prayer.  
_Gods above, spare me of this torture, I beg you. Release me from this death trap, or end my suffering here and now! If this is to be the death of me, don’t delay it! _And with that, he passed out, from exhaustion in the hot sun. As a result, he never saw the man rushing towards him to cut him out.____

_The Irishman reached the man roped to the rock, and immediately checked his pulse, making sure the man was still alive. When he felt a beat, he breathed a sigh of relief, it wasn’t too late to save this poor man. He circled the rock, finding the knot and attempted to loosen it, to no avail, it was tied too tight. He then realized he was without a knife or sharp object. He rushed back to the shore to find a sharp rock to cut the man free with._  
He found one quickly, and rushed back to the water, and promptly cut the man free. The man fell from the rock slowly. The Irishman moved quickly, dropping the rock, so as to not cut the man, and caught him, keeping his head above the water, allowing the man to breath still. It was in this moment, he caught a glimpse of the “man’s” tail, discovering this was no man at all, but in fact a murúch, as his gran would always call them, more commonly known as a Siren. He’d heard many stories about the Sirens leading a man to his deaths through their voices and looks, and never believed his gran. As a child, he’d always wanted to meet a murúch, witness their beauty himself, hear their songs. Looks like now was his chance.  
He took a closer look at the Sirens face, noticing he was quite handsome. Black hair that looked pretty fluffy, shorter on the sides, longer on the top, similar to his own hair cut. Chiseled features, a strong jaw covered by light facial hair, not enough to be considered a beard, but long enough to see from a distance, darker skin than his own, though not by much. His upper torso was well built, arms that looked quite strong. His tail was a multitude of colors, ranging from blue to red, to pink, and all combinations of those colors.  
The Irishman reached out his hand to touch the Sirens tail, mesmerized by its beauty and shine. Just before his hand reached the Sirens tail, the Siren opened his eyes, and quickly moved away from the Irishman. He hung close to the rock as the Irishman kneeled in the water and tried to calm the Siren. As he looked at the Irishman with a terrified gaze, he noticed the Sirens eyes were a chocolate brown, warm and calm. The Irishman found his eyes meeting those of the terrified Siren many times.  
“Hey, it’s okay. Ye were tied ta tis rock, an’ ye weren’t breathin’. I cut ye out o’ te ropes. Can ye understand me?” the Irishman asked, realizing the Siren may not understand english. But to his surprise, the Siren nodded his head and seemed to calm down slightly, though still on edge. The Irishman decided to start a conversation, maybe that would calm the Siren down.  
“My name’s Jack. Hwat’s yers?” Jack asked calmly and patiently, hoping he doesn’t scare the cute Siren away.  
“My name is Markiplier” the Siren said, still sounding wary of Jack.  
“Markiplier. Tat’s a mouthfull. Can I call ye Maerk fer short?” Jack asked, smiling at the Siren, hoping he wasn’t going against the Siren’s culture. But again to his surprise, the Siren, Mark nodded.  
“My friends all call me Mark. Only my mother calls me by my full name” Mark said, sounding more calm to Jack. Jack smiled at him again.  
“Yeah, I know how it feels ta get called yer full name by yer mum” Jack replied, laughing a little, remembering all the times his mother used his full name, especially after all the trouble he used to get into. Mark chuckled along with Jack, apparently remembering the same thing from his own mother. Jack got curious as to how he ended up tied to a rock.  
“I don’t mean ta be a downer but, how did ye get roped ta tis rock?” Jack asked, internally wishing he hadn’t when he noticed Mark’s smile fade at the question.  
“Well, it’s kind of a long story” Mark replied, sounding reluctant to tell the story. Jack gave him a kind, patient smile.  
“Ye don’t have ta tell it if ye don’t want ta. I was just curious hwy someone would do somethin’ so mean ta ye” Jack replied, not wanting to make Mark uncomfortable.  
“I might as well, since I’ll be asked the same question by my friends” Mark replied, sitting down, back against the rock. Jack copied his movements, having a feeling this might be a long story.

_The Siren had promptly passed out as the heat of the sun became too much for him to bear. He finally awoke, body in the water, head kept above the surface, resting on another person. He opened his eyes, and found another pair of eyes looking back at his, blue as the ocean. He was almost mesmerized by them, until he remembered what he’d just gone through.  
He leapt from the person’s lap and against the rock to which he had been previously roped. He stuck to the rock in a panic, not knowing what to do.  
_Is this person going to rope me up too? Are they going to do something worse to me? _The Siren asked himself, feeling scared for his life.  
“Hey, it’s okay. Ye were tied ta tis rock, an’ ye weren’t breathin’. I cut ye out o’ te ropes. Can ye understand me?” the man asked, and the Siren’s breathing slowed slowly.  
_We speak the same language? I’d always thought humans and Sirens would never be able to understand each other! _The Siren thought as he slowly nodded to the human, indicating he could indeed understand him. Their eyes met several times, each time growing longer and longer. As the Siren looked more closely at the human that rescued him, he noticed his gorgeous features.  
The man had short brown hair on the sides of his head, and longer green hair on top, a haircut similar to his own. He had facial hair similar to his own, and big bushy eyebrows above both ocean blue eyes. His skin was lighter than the Sirens, though not by a considerable amount, and he had a strange accent, one that the Siren had only heard from the Sirens of Ireland, leading him to assume this man was Irish.  
“My name’s Jack. Hwat’s yers?” the Irishman sked the Siren, possibly trying to converse with him, even calm him down. The Siren decided to answer him, he didn’t seem to be a threat, though he was still somewhat on edge.  
“My name is Markiplier” the Siren answered, the wariness audible in his voice. The Irishman smiled at him, and the Siren felt something inside his chest growing.  
_What is this feeling? I’ve only just met this man, all I know is his name. I don’t understand. _The Siren thought to himself, as the human spoke up again._______  
“Markiplier. Tat’s a mouthfull. Can I call ye Maerk fer short?” the Irishman asked, sounding nervous. The Siren nodded all the same.  
“My friends all call me Mark. Only my mother calls me by my full name” Mark responded, before realizing he was telling this human, Jack, there were more like him, without knowing if Jack was like the men that roped him to the rock. To his surprise, Jack started laughing slightly.  
“Yeah, I know how it feels ta get called yer full name by yer mum” Jack said, most likely remembering all the times his mother called him by his full name. Mark began remembering all those times himself, and began chuckling himself. It was a nice moment, both of them, laughing and chuckling calmly. Then Jack asked something that put a damper on the moment.  
“I don’t mean ta be a downer but, how did ye get roped ta tis rock?” Mark stopped chuckling, and his smile dropped as he remembered what the men did to him, tying him to the rock and leaving him for dead. Jack must have noticed Mark’s smile fade, as his did the same.  
“Well, it’s kind of a long story” Mark said, not wanting to be rude, but still not wanting to tell the story. Jack gave him a kind, patient smile.  
“Ye don’t have ta tell it if ye don’t want ta. I was just curious hwy someone would do somethin’ so mean ta ye” Jack replied, sounding sincere. Mark decided to tell him. He’d have to tell his friends and family anyway. They’d expected him back ages ago.  
“I might as well, since I’ll be asked the same question by my friends” Mark replied, as he used his tail to sit back against the rock, feeling this may take some time. He looked up from the action and noticed Jack had copied the action, sitting close to him, back against another rock. The sun was still in the sky, but it would set soon. Mark wanted to get home before dark, so he quickly began the story.

_Jack listened as Mark talked about what had happened to him. How he’d simply gone out to find food, how he’d taken a detour back home and decided to spend some time on the beach, resting behind the very rock his back was now against, to watch the people on the beach. Jack’s face changed many times when hearing the story._  
First, he smiled, as Mark talked about finding interest in human garbage and other humans, like Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Then to concern when Mark told him how the men grabbed his arms and held him against the rock. And finally anger as Mark told him how they roped him to the rock in the hot sun, half in water, half out. How he prayed to his gods to either free him or end his suffering, how he’d passed out right after that. When Mark had finished the story, Jack looked outraged, and felt really pissed off.  
“Hwy te fock would tey do tat ta ye? Those guys aren’t human, they’re scum. They’re lower tan scum!” Jack said, angrily, when Mark finished the story.  
“If you hadn’t come by and saved me, I would have died. Thank you for that. You saved my life, I’m in your debt” Mark said to Jack, causing Jack’s face to feel hot for some reason. Jack shook his head.  
“No, Maerk, you don’t need ta do tat. I was helpin, because I wasn’t just gonna let you stay tied ta tat rock” Jack said modestly, not wanting Mark to be in debt to him for Jack doing the right thing. Mark smiled at him.  
“Okay, if you’re sure you don’t want a Siren to be indebted to you” Mark responded, jokingly. Jack giggled at Mark’s response, when suddenly, something caught his eye. As the sun’s final rays sank down, Mark’s tail and hair began to glow. His tail glowed pink, blue, red, and every combination between those colors, his hair glowed a rich, cerulean blue. Jack found himself mesmerized by the glow. He’d never seen anything as beautiful. It was just like the stories his Gran used to tell him, but more beautiful than he’d ever imagined.  
“Beautiful” he blurted, before realizing he’d said it out loud. Jack looked up from Mark’s tail, to see Mark looking back at him. Brown eyes met blue, and Jack felt something, a spark in his chest that he couldn’t name, but it warmed first his chest, then moved to his body, and up to his head. He could feel the warmth spread to the tips of his fingertips, and he thought if it somehow built up, it would shine through his fingers. It traveled to his feet, and warmed his legs, which had grown cold sitting in the water. He couldn’t describe the feeling, it was something unlike anything he’d felt before. He didn’t know if Mark felt it too, but he felt it, and he never wanted the feeling to stop.  
“Sorry. I didn’t mean ta say tat out loud. I’ve heard stories from me Gran about Sirens. She used ta tell me how tey glowed at night. I used ta picture hwat it looked like, but tis is more beautiful tan anythin’ I ever imagined” Jack said, face heating up, feeling embarrassed and something else at the same time.  
“It’s okay. I’m flattered. Nobody’s ever been interested in Sirens like you in a long time. The last human who was as interested as you fell in love with a Siren, a century ago” Mark replied, talking softly, smiling at Jack as their eyes met again. Jack felt his face warm up again, ande decided it was time to go home, his legs had gotten very cold, and he hadn’t brought a change of clothes, not knowing he would spend hours with a Siren today.  
“Tat’s cool! I’ll bet some humans would be pretty interested, but maybe fer te wrong reason. Anyway, I need ta head home. I haven’t eaten in ages, an I have things ta do tomorrow. But I’d love ta talk wit ye again sometime soon!” Jack said to Mark as he stood up and stretched his back out. Mark smiled at him.  
“Yeah, this was fascinating! If you’re not too busy tomorrow, I would love to meet you on the beach again, but maybe somewhere else, in case those guys come back” Mark replied, and Jack smiled back at him.  
“Yeah, fer sure! Well, If I can, I’ll come down ta te beach again! It was lovely ta meet ya, Maerk! I’ll see you later!” Jack replied as he headed back to the shore, waving at Mark, his glow still visible when Jack reached the shore. Jack turned and saw Mark wave back, then turn in the water, and swim into the ocean. Jack watched the glow until it disappeared, and began walking back home. He got some looks from some people. Apparently in LA, they’d never seen a green haired Irishman walk down the sidewalk in the middle of the night in wet swim trunks and flip flops. At least he had worn a shirt to the beach.  
When he reached his home, he unlocked the front door, and stepped inside, closing the door and locking it behind him. The house had cooled down significantly after the sun went down. He turned on a few laps and went to his art corner, the corner in his house where he kept all his art supplies, except the paints, which he pulled out of the fridge, finally being able to paint without his paints melting.  
He set up the easel and a canvas in front of his stool. He grabbed his palet, a jar, which he filled with water, and several brushes of different sizes. He chose the paints he needed, and placed the rest in the fridge so they wouldn’t melt the next morning. He placed generous amount of the paints on the palet, and began to work. He took out a pencil and drew a sketch of what he wanted. When he was satisfied with the sketch, he placed the pencil behind his ear, grabbed a brush and began to paint.  
He mixed paints together, he dabbed paint onto the canvas, he just painted. When he was done, he took a step back from the painting, and admired his work. Normally he sold his paintings, or put them in galleries or auctions for charity, but this one he knew he’d keep. It was a painting of Mark, back resting against the rock, his hair and tail glowing those colors that had mesmerized Jack. Jack smiled at his work, then looked at the clock. He’d painted for hours, it was now ten at night, and he hadn’t even eaten.  
He washed his brushes out, washed off the palet, and rinsed out the jar, before leaving his painting to dry. He went into the kitchen and made some food, thinking about the Siren the whole time. And when he finally went off to bed, he could still see the eyes of the Siren looking back at him as his tail glowed.

_Mark sat, his back against the rock, and told Jack the story of how he’d gone out to find food for a meal, how he’d taken a detour, how he’d went to the rock behind him to watch for humans. He saw Jack’s expression change to one of anger as he told him of how the men roped him to the rock and left him to die. He told Jack how he prayed to the gods to save him or ease his pain, before he passed out._  
“Hwy te fock would tey do tat ta ye? Those guys aren’t human, they’re scum. They’re lower tan scum!” Jack shouted angrily when Mark had finished his story.  
“If you hadn’t come by and saved me, I would have died. Thank you for that. You saved my life, I’m in your debt” Mark replied to Jack, feeling his face grow hot. Jack shook his head.  
“No, Maerk, you don’t need ta do tat. I was helpin, because I wasn’t just gonna let you stay tied ta tat rock” Jack said, a tone of modesty in his voice. Mark smiled at his modesty, allowing Jack to have his modesty.  
“Okay, if you’re sure you don’t want a Siren to be indebted to you” Mark responded, jokingly. Suddenly, Mark felt his scales begin to vibrate with energy, telling him they were about to glow. He looked up, and noticed that the story had taken so long that the sun had set. He looked down at his tail just as it began to glow. His face grew red, he had wanted to finish the story and leave before his tail began to glow. Guess the story took longer than he’d thought it would.  
But when he looked at Jack, he saw the mesmerized look on Jack’s face as he looked at Mark’s tail. Mark began blushing brighter.  
“Beautiful” Jack said, and immediately looked up Mark, looking like he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. As Mark looked back at Jack, and their eyes met. Mark felt a spark in chest, warming his chest, and moving up to his head, warming his face. The warmth traveled down his body and tail, almost making his scales glow brighter than he’d ever seen them. He didn’t know what this feeling was, or if Jack felt it too, but he wanted to feel this way forever.  
“Sorry. I didn’t mean ta say tat out loud. I’ve heard stories from me Gran about Sirens. She used ta tell me how tey glowed at night. I used ta picture hwat it looked like, but tis is more beautiful tan anythin’ I ever imagined” Jack said, looking embarrassed, and something else Mark couldn’t place. Mark felt his face heat up at how fascinated Jack was by his tail.  
“It’s okay. I’m flattered. Nobody’s ever been interested in Sirens like you in a long time. The last human who was as interested as you fell in love with a Siren, a century ago” Mark said, smiling at Jack, their eyes meeting again. Mark felt his chest warm everytime his eyes met Jack’s.  
“Tat’s cool! I’ll bet some humans would be pretty interested, but maybe fer te wrong reason. Anyway, I need ta head home. I haven’t eaten in ages, an I have things ta do tomorrow. But I’d love ta talk wit ye again sometime soon!” Jack said, standing and stretching, after sitting against the rock for so long. Mark nodded, knowing how late it was, and he needed to get home too.  
“Yeah, this was fascinating! If you’re not too busy tomorrow, I would love to meet you on the beach again, but maybe somewhere else, in case those guys come back” Mark responded, smiling at Jack still.  
“Yeah, fer sure! Well, If I can, I’ll come down ta te beach again! It was lovely ta meet ya, Maerk! I’ll see you later!” Jack replied, waving, before turning back and walking to the shore. Mark watched him walk through the water and reach the shore. Mark waved back at Jack as he reached the shore, before turning in the water, and swimming back to his home.  
He was met with friends and family alike, all sounding very happy to see him, thinking the worst had happened. Mark decided to not tell them he’d been roped and left for dead. Knowing his friends and mom, they probably would have started a war. Mark simply told them that he’d met someone and got caught up talking with them, which wasn’t a lie, he had gotten caught up talking with Jack.  
He didn’t want to stick around, convincing his friends that this new person wasn’t his partner, so he said he was tired, and swam back to his home. His home was built of clay on the side of a rock wall. The lights in the home were made of coral that lit on it’s own in the dark. He had multiple rooms, each with a bed, and seeing as he didn’t need a bathroom, that just left an extra room, that he just used as an extra guest room.  
On his swim back to his house, all he could think of was Jack’s ocean blue eyes. He felt so at home, looking into Jack’s eyes. He remembered Jack calling his tail beautiful, and the warmth he felt in his chest when his eyes met Jack, and his face grew warm again. As he reached his home, he saw the coral lights outside his home, and smiled. He entered his home, and went straight for his bed, he’d had a busier day than he’d expected. As he’d prepared to go to sleep, he thought of Jack, and smiled. He closed his eyes, and let sleep take him.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack woke up the next morning, his back hurting slightly from leaning against a rock for hours the evening before. He checked the clock beside his bed, seeing the times was 10:30 in the morning, and decided to get up. He took a shower, and got dressed, walking into the kitchen for a quick breakfast, before getting to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, my most sincere apologies for taking so long to get back to this fic. I've been on this weird Stucky one shot binge for sone reason, and I kinda neglected this fic. But I'll try and work some more on it soon, seeing as I'm running out of ideas for the Stucky one shots. There isn't really any Siren Mark, except for really mentions. Next chapter will probably be Mark, and then Jack joining him later on. Anyway, hope you enjoy!!

Jack woke up the next morning, his back hurting slightly from leaning against a rock for hours the evening before. He checked the clock beside his bed, seeing the time was 10:30 in the morning and decided to get up. He took a shower, and got dressed, walking into the kitchen for a quick breakfast before getting to work. 

  After finishing his toast, he went to his computer and logged in, checking his emails. Someone had emailed him a  commission him to paint their girlfriend as a siren. They included several pictures of her, a close up of her face, two profiles, and one of her full body. They asked for oil paints, which Jack used anyway, in colors of greens, blues and silvers, being her favorite colors, according to the person making the request. They were offering 2300, dollars for a 24x30 canvas painting, a reasonable price for a painting that size. They offered 300 upfront for materials, and they would pay the other 2 thousand when the painting was finished.

  Jack emailed the person back, saying he accepted the commission, asking if there was a time frame he needed to finish the painting. After about 3 minutes, the person emailed him back, saying there was no actual time frame for when the painting needed to be completed, and that they deposited the 300 in Jack’s commission account. Jack emailed them back, thanking them, and saying he would get right on the painting. 

  “Might as well draw out a few rough sketches first in my sketchbook, before I buy te materials. At least then I’ll have have an idea o’ hwat I want” he said to himself. Yeah, he talked out loud to himself. Helped him understand what he was thinking, especially when it came to paintings. He got up from behind his computer, and walked into his living room, where his sketchbook was lying on the table near the couch. It was full of sketches for other paintings he had been commissioned for over the last few months.

  He picked up the sketchbook, and walked back to his computer. He sat in the chair, and paid close attention to the photos of the woman the person had emailed him. He began sketching different ideas out, almost without knowing what he was sketching. Whenever he drew, or painted, his body took over, and his mind took a break. It didn’t seem like a good idea to most, but to Jack, it was therapeutic and calming. 

  After a while, he looked down at his sketchbook, and saw three sketches. The first had the woman swimming in the ocean, the second featured her, sitting on a dock, tail pulled to the side, in the typical mermaid pose. The third sketch caught his eye. It was the woman, tail out in front of her, still in the water, her back against a rock. Jack smiled when he saw it, knowing exactly why his hands drew that. He decided to go with the third idea, already having a lot of ideas on how to go about painting it. 

  By then, it was already one in the afternoon, and Jack was getting hungry. He decided to go out to a nearby dinner for some lunch, before heading to the local art store where he was a regular. The shop owner, Tom Shaw, knew him personally, and they were known to spend ages, just talking about projects they were working on. When Jack walked into the shop, Tom had assumed his usual position, behind the front counter. He was a kind older man, with white hair, but a whole lot of life left in him.

  “Hello, Jack! How’s your day been so far?” Tom asked, when he saw Jack walk into the shop. Jack smiled at him and walked up to the counter.

  “It’s been grand, Tom. And yerself?” he answered, shaking Tom’s hand. It had become the norm between them, everytime Jack came in and saw Tom, they always shook hands.

  “Been a bit of a slow morning, but it picked up not too long ago. What’re you doin’ here? Got a new project?” Tom asked, smiling back at Jack.

  “As a matter o’ fact, I just got another commission! Someone emailed me, askin’ fer a paintin’ of their girlfriend as a mermaid. Offered me 2300, payin’ me 300 upfront fer materials. Wanted it ta be 24x30, and they asked fer green, blue an’ silver fer te Siren tail. Didn’t give me a time frame, though. Still, figured I’d get right on it, you know how much I love jumping on a project hwen I get ta chance” Jack said, winking at Tom, who laughed. They were the same way, Tom and Jack. They loved getting new projects, and they took no time at all when starting them. Tom usually stuck with acrylic painting, though he was known to do some oil, and even water color for certain people. 

  “And yerself? Any new projects lined up fer ye?” Jack asked Tom, who nodded, looking excited.

  “As a matter of fact, I do! ‘Course, it’s more of a personal project, for May” Tom said, smiling widely. His wife, May, had been with him for nearly 30 years, through thick and thin. She had helped him start his art store, usually, she ran the finances, but she loved working in the shop, amongst the supplies. And she loved Jack. Whenever she saw him, she treated him like he was a son to her, and Jack considered her his American mother.

  “Gonna be our thirtieth anniversary next week. Been cooking up something special for her” Tom continued, and leaned his face closer to Jack’s, and motioned for Jack to lean closer too. Jack knew exactly what Tom was doing, and he smiled, knowing he was about to be let in on a secret.

  “I’m painting us, at our wedding. We had photos taken of us, on our wedding day, and I knew they would make for an amazing painting. I’m hiding it out in my usual hiding spot in the shop. I’ve still got some work on it, but the way things are going, it should be done just in time for our anniversary” Tom said, smiling. Jack knew exactly where his usual hiding spot was. Whenever Tom wanted to hide something from May, he put it in the storage room, where the new shipments went. Usually, if it was a painting, he covered the canvas with a sheet, to keep her from wondering, though she rarely went into the storage room anyway. 

  Jack loved that Tom could trust him with a secret like that. Both of them knew just how tight his Irish lips could be when it came to secrets, and May knew that too. It didn’t stop her from trying to get information out of Jack everytime she saw him though. She was just as stubborn as he was when it came to trying to get secrets out of people, going as far as bribing people with her famous May Shaw’s double chip and toffee cookies. 

  Jack always had a weakness for cookies, and while her’s were the best he’d ever had, he never gave in to the power of her cookies. She always gave him some anyway, regardless of whether or not he gave in and told her something. Jack loved May like a mother, and would sometimes even call her Ma, to make her smile, which it always did. Even on his worst days, May Shaw always brought a smile to his face.

  “But enough about me and my silly projects, go buy your materials. Sounds like you’re pretty excited about this one” Tom said, leaning back, and smiling. Jack smiled back at him. He’d never really seen Tom as a father figure, more like a really close, much older brother, even though Tom sometimes treated Jack like his son. But Tom knew who he was to Jack, and sometimes would joke that if Jack had known Tom when he was much younger, they would have been brothers in every way but by blood. Jack was always flattered to know that, even though he’d grown up with 2 older brothers.

  “How’re the kids?” Jack asked, changing the subject. Tom and May had 2 kids, a boy and a girl, who were much older now, with families of their own. Their daughter, Anna, lived with her husband, Shawn, and their two kids, twin girls, in New York City. She had taken an interest in theater as a child, and that love of theater followed through adulthood. She moved to New York to study theater, and that’s where she met Shawn. They went to NYU together, he was studying business. She was a very well known actress, and worked alongside her husband, who was her agent. Their daughters, Skye and Alexis, who were 16 and going into their sophomore year in high school, went to a typical public school, by choice. Anna had offered to have them go to a private school, but they had chosen a public school. Because they lived so far away, they didn’t visit that often, but they called at least three times a month. 

  Their son, James, lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his husband, Steve and their adopted daughter. As a child, he had always taken an interest in his parents work as artists, and went to college in New Mexico, The Santa Fe University of Art and Design, where he had met Steve, who was working towards a degree in photography. They both graduated, and after a few years of being together, Steve finally proposed. They had gotten married a year later, in the beautiful church on the Santa Fe Plaza. James had grown to love New Mexico in the time he had lived there, and they had decided to stay. He had followed down his parents art path, and did all manner of art forms, from painting, to collage, even photography. Steve worked as a gallery owner, and often housed many of James’ work, selling it for fair prices. Their daughter, Alli, who was entering her freshman year, had begun following her father’s footsteps, from even a very young age. She had been admitted into the New Mexico School for the Arts, which was a difficult school to get into. It was a charter school, so her fathers didn’t have to pay a thing. 60 children applied each year, but only about 10 get in, so she felt extremely lucky when she made it in. Because they lived much closer, they visited Tom and May every spring break.

  When Jack first heard about James and his husband, he had been surprised to know how accepting Tom and May had been. But after getting to know the both of them, he soon realized that they were strong supporters of LGBTQIA+ rights, and even marched at a rally in San Francisco back in the 70’s, and again the year before this one.

  When Jack found out, he became inspired, for reasons he didn’t know, and painted Tom and May, as he imagined they looked in the 70’s, a small rainbow painted on both cheeks, like football streaks. They were standing next to each other, holding hands, and a corner of a pride flag in their other hands, holding it up together, letting it flow in the wind behind them. Of course, he also put them in typical 70’s hippie clothing, the bell bottom jeans, bug-eyed sunglasses, feathers in their hair, and May had on the 70’s leather headband.

  He had given it to them as a present, and they had loved it. They hung it up in the shop, behind the counter, as a way of silently letting patrons know they were supportive of all known genders and sexualities. Turns out, Jack hadn’t been far off in their appearances. They showed him a photo of what they had looked like in the 70’s, and they looked almost exactly like how Jack had painted them. The only difference was May hadn’t been blonde, like Jack had painted her, but they loved the painting anyway.

  “They’re doing just fine! Anna, Shawn and the kids called us yesterday, Anna got cast in a hit broadway show called Priority Mail. She wouldn’t tell me much about it, only that it’s about the journey of postmen and women who unionize. And the girls are good, though Alexis is failing her math class, and Skye is having trouble in science. But they’re helping each other out, so it should all work out in the end. And James, Steve and Alli called us this morning, and said they’d try and make it in town for our anniversary. I guess they wanted to do something special for us. I told them they didn’t have ta, but they insisted, so looks like they’ll be in town again. It was really sweet, Alli asked how you were doing, I told her you were just fine” Tom said, chuckling at his granddaughter. Jack smiled. He’d had the pleasure of meeting James, Steve, and Alli in late March, when they visited for spring break. 

  He had been going to the shop to pick up more art supplies for another commission, and they had been visiting the shop. They had all heard a lot about him, and he had heard a lot about them, and James had been so happy to finally meet the man who painted the painting of his parents that hung behind the counter. They talked about painting, and their techniques for a good long while, while Steve and Alli looked around the shop to see all the new shipments. After a while, Alli came up to Jack and started talking to him, telling him about her new school, and how she was aiming to be a painter like her father and grandfather. Jack gave her some tips and pointers, and they talked for a bit while James got a chance to look around the shop. After that, Alli made sure to let her grandpa know to say hi to Jack for her.

  Jack found it to be so humbling, to practically be considered a part of the family. He gave both James and Steve his number, and they’ve kept in pseudo contact over the past few months. It warmed Jack’s heart to know that he’d been accepted into the Shaw family, so much so that James actually thanked him for being so close to Tom and May, saying that they didn’t have any family out here, and it was great for him to know that they still had people to be there for them.

  “That’s super sweet! I hope I can stop by and see them while their here” Jack said, excited at the prospect of getting to see James and his family again. Steve had offered to put some of Jack’s paintings in his gallery, sell them, if he wanted, but Jack declined respectfully. He much rathered to take commissions, and be a bit more local, but the offer was definitely a kind one.

  “How’ve you been, Jack. Social life, met anyone new?” Tom asked, looking like a father trying to keep an eye on his son.

  “You know me, Tom. I stay inside and paint, with te occasional drinks wit friends. Though, I did meet this interestin’ guy yesterday at te beach. He was gettin’ roughed up a bit, so I gave ‘im a hand, an’ we talked fer hours” Jack said, before he could stop himself, but it was too late to take it back, so might as well pretend Mark wa a human.

  “Oooo, look at you! Did you get a name and number? Might finally find someone who can drag you outta your house so you can have a social life” Tom said, winking. Tom and May had found out Jack was Bi one day when May had asked him why he didn’t have a girl. Jack had told her he hadn’t found the right one yet, but he was on the lookout. Then she asked if he had found a guy, and he decided, why not tell them. So he said he hadn’t found one either, but he was on an even closer lookout. Tom and May, of course, supported him, and even tried to hook him up with some people, both man and woman who walked into the shop. To Jack, it felt like parents trying to embarrass their son on purpose, but he appreciated the support.

  “Maybe. I didn’t get a number, sadly, but I did get a name. His name is Maerk, and he lives by the beach, goes out swimmin’ every day. Might go down ta te beach and see if he’s there again later today” Jack said, smiling. Tom patted his shoulder supportingly.

  “Well then, you hurry up and get your supplies. The sooner you get outta here, the sooner you can start working, the sooner you can get down to the beach, and talk to this ‘Maerk’ some more” Tom said, making fun of Jack’s accent, causing Jack to giggle. He took Tom’s advice, and picked up the materials he needed, and paying.

  “Good luck with this Mark ya met, Jack” Tom said, handing Jack his change.

  “Thank ye. Good luck on yer somethin’ special fer May. And give her a hug fer me, would you?” Jack said, taking the change, a smile on his face.

  “Will do, Jack! Have a lovely rest of your day!” Tom said, waving to Jack as he backed up to the door.

  “Same to you, Tom!” Jack said, waving back, opening the door with his back and leaving the building. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I need to say, I fucking love Tom and his family! They are so awesome! NMSA is a real school in Santa Fe, my brother goes there, and SFUAD is also a real college, it closed last year. Hope ya liked it!


End file.
